Rail-joint



T. DOUGHERTY.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICAIION FILED OCT. 2. 1920.

1,883,086. Patented June 28, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

[2706 7 2 for T. DOUGHERTY.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2, 1920,

8m 4 es nn 9, 4 7 m 4 M 4 AU .1 Wm JWJVJ 2 Z Z I F 5 m I, 3 4 6 m 1 z r iomns nooennnrr, or MI NEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

RAIL-JOINT.

1 sp o m t t Patented June 28,1921.

Application filed October 2, 1920. serialno. 414,365.

To all whom itmay.c0ncem.'; 1

Be it known that I, THOMAS DoUormR'rY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Minneapolis in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to rail joints and has forits object to provide a rail joint which will: firmly clamp the ends of the two rails together so as. to prevent relative, lateral movement of the ends of the rail and still allow the rails to expandand contract without affecting the rigidity of the connection. In carrying out my'invention I provide two-members which are bolted on both sides of the rails between the head and the base and have tapered sockets fitting around the base of the rail. These members are further provided with flanges extending below the rail base which assist in clamping the joint aroundthe rail base. 7

The ,full objects and advantages of my invention will be found in connection with the detailed description thereof and areparticularly pointed out in the claims.

a In the drawings, illustrating my invention in one form: Figure 1 is a side view of a pair of rails showing my inventionapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is-a plan view of the rails and joint shown in Fig. 1.. Fig; 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 taken from the bottom looking up. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken online 55 of Fig. 1.

My invention as is best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is shown attached to the ends of two rails 10 and 11 which are of'the usual design having heads 14 and 15, webs 16 and 17 and the bases 18 and 19 which rest on ties 20 and 21 of standard size and spaced the customary distance apart. My rail joint comprises two castings or drop forgings 12 and 13 which have longitudinal web portions 22 and 23 which extend along the rails 10 and 11 between the heads 14 and 15 and the bases 18 and 19 thereof. At the lower portions of the members 12 and 13, the metal follows along the tops of the rail bases as indicated at 24 and 25 extendin throughout the entire length of the joint. etween the ties 20 and 21 portions 26 and 27 of members 12 and 13 are formed, which extend on the underside of the bases 18 and 19 of the rails 10 and 11, and terminate in downwardly extendingifianges 28and 29. I The proportions I of the parts and the manner in which they fit, around the rail are clearly shown in Fig. 4.- I

.The manner of fasteningthe joint to the rail is as follows: Four track bolts 30, 31, 32 and 33pass through theweb, portions 16 and17 of the rail ends, asJin ordinary rail joints. The holes are drilled and spacedac- ,cordlng to the standards of track practice so that'jan ordinary rail joint may be removed .and' my improved joint substituted for it without any alterations to the existin r track. In addition to these bolts the rail joint is further held together. by two track bolts 34 and 35 which pass through the flanges 28 and 29 immediately below the rail-bases 18 and 19 and the portions 26 and 27 of the joint proper.v

, In applyi'ng the j oint'tothe rails, bolts 30, 31, 32 and 33 are, first tightened up. w This throws a shoulder 36 formed on the-upper portion of each-of the. members 22 and 23 against the webs 16 and .17 immediatelybelow the rail heads 14 and 15. It will be noted in Fig. 4-that gaps 41 and42 are left between the rail headsj14 and 15 and the shoulders 36 to makesure that these shoulders will engage the webs16 and 17 and not the under side of the rail headsj At the same time portions 24 and 25 and 26 and 27 are forced in contact with the rail bases 18 and 19. To insure contact with these rail bases in the proximity ofthe rail webs,two elongated pockets or recesses 37 and '38 are formed in members 12 and 13 at the junctions of the portions 24 and 26. and 25 and 27 which prevent the extreme outer edges of the rail bases from engaging the rail joint members and so preventing further movement of these members toward each other in the event that portions 24, 25, 26 and 27 do not engage the rail bases near the webs. After bolts 30, 31, 32 and 33 have been sufiiciently tightened up, the two remaining bolts 34 and 35 are tightened. This has the effect of throwing the corners 39 and of members 12 and 13 against the lower surfaces of the rail bases 18 and 19, thus firmly clamping the joint to the rails. A space 45 is left between flanges 28 and 29, to prevent termination of movement of these members toward each other prior to the engagement of portions 24, 26, 25 and 27 with the rail bases 18 and 19. Any bending at the junction of members. 26j-and 28 and membersQT and 29 is prevented by two transverse webs,&3 and,

44 formed integral with the structure.

' The rails are fastened to the ties in Figs. 3 and 5. Beyond the flanges 28 and 29 portions 24 and of the. rail joint do not return under the rail bases but terminate in ears or lugs 46, 4:7, 48and"49-which2project out beyond the rest of the rail joint and lie flush with the bottom of" the rail bases. These lugs form aseat for the joint onthe ties20 and 21 and are each provided with a notch by means of which the rails and: jointv are spiked to said ties through spikes 51 g I The advantagesofmy invention aremanifest; Aperfectly rigid connection is secured", by preventing? vertical bending through the clampingofthe" rail" bases and relativejlateral movement of the rails bythe clamping of the rail webs near the. heads.

"Inasmuch as' the size of the bolt holes/does not affect the utility of the joint the same can be made large enough so that expansion and contraction of the rails can be taken care ofwithout sacrificing in the rigidityof the connection; l hejoint can be appliedto the rails without re-drilling or moving the ties and can be installed asquicklyias an of the ordinary types of rail j oints 'Iclaim: I

I. A rail jointcomp'risinga pairofbngitudinal members each having a portion directly engaging and 'cl'am'pingthe webs of the rails immediately below the rail heads, said portion operating free of the rail heads,

a V shaped portion adapted to engage the.

sides of the rail base operatingfree of the rail web, means ior drawing "said first named" portions together and means for drawing said V shaped'portionsitogether; 2. A railjjoint oomprisinga pair oflon'gi- 'tudinal' members, e aving a beadedhead c y g ging the rail webs immediately below the rail heads and operating'free from the rail heads and from'the'rail web below the engagement therewith, a depending ver- 20 V 21 adj aoent the joint'in a manner best shown;

tical body portion. connected" with said beaded. head, an inclined slidable portion issuing angularly outwardly from said body por ti'on' and" engaging the upper surfaoeof the railrbase throughout its length, said angular portion operating free of, the web at its j unction with the'base and operating freeof-- the extreme edge of the base ofthe railgabase portion yieldinglyconnected to said angular portion and extending inwardly therefrom means for rigidly connectingsaid bracket to i said base portion, means for drawing said on the underside of; the-rail,- a bracket depending" from said base-' portion, bracing portion oftherailbase and force the' upper I surfaces of the ra'ill-head'sin alinement;

3. A rail-joint-comprisinga pairof; longi' -V tud-ina-I members each having a portion di- 'rectly engaging the rail webs immediately below" they heads said portions" operating free of therail heads, a portion sli'd'ableon the upper surface of'the rail base operating free of the edge of said base and the rail webs, a second portionyieldingly connected depending from said last named base portion,' means forrigidly bracing said bracket tosaid" last named portion, means for draw ing said 'fi rsfinamedn portionsjtogetl'ier to o Saidv firstnamed ba P rtion extending A on the d ilsid 0f said rail base ajb k t r freelyclamp the rail websandineans forsimultaneously drawing said upper and lower base engaging'portions upon said" base and for bending said lowerbase engagingportion upon its yielding connection with said upper base engaging portionagainstthe underside of the rail base THOMAS nouennnrry 

